Quote:
Originally Posted by sjastro
The theory is completely wrong if the Higgs mechanism doesn't exist.
The Electroweak theory is built on a Higgs mechanism for symmetry breaking.
The masses of the W and Z bosons could not be predicted without a Higgs mechanism.
Regards
Steven
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As it stands, you're right. However there are a couple of ways of looking at this. Either the Higgs mechanism exists but they've gotten all the maths wrong for the expected energy level at which it appears. Or, it doesn't exist and they need a new EW Theory. There's even another way...there might be something in the Higgsless models which preserves EW Theory but does it without the Higgs. The mass of the W and Z bosons must be predictable in the Higgsless and Technicolor models, otherwise they wouldn't mesh with the Standard Model and it, itself, would be called into question as well.